The US needs more news outlets and it doesn't. That's a
reality that has only become more true as the term "news outlets" --
it's not elastic -- has been stretched to include public affairs
programs, talk shows and even hate sites like the always ridiculous RAW
STORY which has refashioned itself into a Trump Stalker.
There
are real issues to cover. Too many of the emerging news 'outlets' have
cast themselves as partisan organs and mistaken partisan attacks for
news.
New
York state has a polio problem. If you're every utterance is about how
awful Donald Trump is, you really don't have time to cover that, do
you? Or Monkeypox or the continuing COVID 19 pandemic. You might have
made time, for example, when Donald Trump was in office to cover the
crumbling US infrastructure but with Joe Biden sworn in as president,
you lost all interest. That doesn't really help anyone.
News
outlets are not 'turn out the vote' organizations. So be wary when you
encounter partisanship from an organization insisting that they are a
news outlet.
We bring all
this up because of John Dickerson and Jen Psaki. John comes from a
journalistic family (Nancy Dickerson, his mother, was a trailblazer).
He has worked for SLATE and TIME and been with CBS NEWS for some time --
hosting CBS MORNING NEWS and FACE THE NATION during his tenure. He is
infamous in the age of fluff and softball for asking difficult questions
of both Democratic and Republican politicians. He has been appointed
the anchor of CBS NEWS PRIME TIME -- which is streaming on the
PARAMOUNT+ streaming service.
We've
enjoyed watching the show unfold. It's not a lefty paradise. We'd
love that. But it's a news program and one going to great pains to hold
everyone accountable. Which is what a news program should do. As a
general rule, we wait before reviewing a daily show -- news or talk --
unless it's a limited series -- because it is going to grow and evolve
as it goes along. (USEFUL IDIOTS is an example of that. Aaron Mate
took awhile but he warmed up on camera and is now a solid co-host for
Katie Halper.) We do applaud John for his work so far.
We have no applause for Jen Psaki.
And she hasn't even stepped into the sewer that is MSNBC yet.
Years
ago, FAIR used to be a lefty outlet. It always leaned Democrat but it
was more to the left. Funding issues brought in line with the other
party organs. These days the only real 'independence' it shows is
during a primary when they clobber one Democrat to promote another one.
That can lead to ridiculous moments such as 2016 when they were trying
to drum up support for Hillary Clinton -- the candidate that they had
trashed in 2007 and 2008. In fact, as we noted in real time, 'media
watchdog' FAIR used their radio program COUNTERSPIN to defend Barack
Obama week after week while only defending Hillary from biased media
attacks once -- when she was called a 'bitch' on a supposed news program
-- and then it was a one sentence 'defense' that didn't even bother to
name the person calling her that name. Their sudden allegiance to her
in 2016 was laughable as a result.
But
back when FAIR pretended to be independent (they weren't), they'd do
things like call out outlets who hired people who cheered on the Iraq
War and got it all wrong. This call out, however, never extended to,
for example, MOTHER JONES which could have hired any number of bloggers
who called out the Iraq War but instead went with pro-war idiot Kevin
Drum. They did a lot of things that just exposed them as rank
hypocrites and that included calling out the revolving door that allowed
government employees to become press and vice versa.
There's a reason this shouldn't happen. The press is supposed to be independent.
Jen
Psaki is a dishonest person. She was the mouthpiece for various
campaigns and politicians before becoming attached as a press secretary
to the Obama White House. She would return as the White House press
secretary under Joe Biden.
Her
remarks are lies. She lied on a daily basis. She was especially
pathetic when attempting to dance and dodge on Hunter Biden's laptop.
Back in October and November of 2020, Jen was able to lie because the
press was helping her lie and insisting it was Russian propaganda. They
all rode the high horse -- especially NPR's ombudsperson. But the
laptop was real. POLITICO was the first to verify this (2021). THE
WASHINGTON POST and THE NEW YORK TIMES would follow.
Jen would lie still.
And that's rather sad for a grown woman but she worked for the White House -- so lying was a natural pose for her.
And
we didn't spend a lot of time focusing on her (here or at THE COMMON
ILLS) but now she's going to be a member of the press? She needs to get
accountable for her public lies if she wants anyone to trust her.
But she doesn't want to be accountable and she doesn't intend to do news because news is beyond her.
She's already demonstrated that.
Jen insists her business is not rage and that she has a "passion" for "explaining things, debunking things, calling out BS." Furthermore:
She also called it "bizarre" that many found President Biden’s recent speech in
Philadelphia partisan, suggesting that "there’s a tactical component of
what he’s saying publicly…but it’s not a reflection of a change in his
view."
A
number of people were offended by Joe's Philadelphia speech. This
included veterans who called out Joe's use of Marines as props for his
political speech. It also included many Republicans, a number of
Democrats and others. That she thinks it is 'bizarre'' goes to how she
has nothing to offer. She's either lying again -- spinning for her
politician of choice -- or she's a stupid idiot.
The Washington Post reported Friday that ABC, CBS, and NBC all declined to carry President Joe Biden’s Thursday remarks because they were viewed as too “political.”
The Post also reported after viewing the speech beforehand, Biden’s criticism of former President Donald Trump was a turnoff to networks that aired reruns and a game show.
Even the networks saw a problem but Jen's clueless and finds it "bizarre." This is someone who can offer news or analysis?
She can't see what most people can and she's an 'expert' to bring on the air?
No, she's just a spinmeister.
We
wondered what kind of a show Jen would bring to MSNBC and we were
planning to review it. Now? We're going to take a pass. When her
former boss gives a divisive speech and she can't understand why some
might take offense, it's clear that she's got nothing to offer but
spin.
Life is too short.
That's a reality that will probably only come to Jen on her death bed,
when it's far too late for her to change the way she wasted her life --
and, yes, whoring for a political party is wasting your life.